Anti-Japanese racism existed in the United States from the start of Japanese immigration in the late 1800s. Japanese immigrants were not allowed to become citizens, although their children were protected by the 14th Amendment and were born as US citizens (Kashima, 2003). However, even these US citizens--over 100,000 Japanese Americans--were subject to imprisonment in Japanese American camps during World War II.

Little has been written on the numismatic remainders of the assembly centers or from the ten relocation centers established inland for the evacuees. The present research has uncovered numerous numismatic items from these camps. We have utilized camp newspapers, memoirs, yearbooks from camp high schools, scrapbooks, film footage, and official reports. We have also had the opportunity to visit some of the camp sites in person. From these sources, we have begun to piece together the numismatic story of the Japanese American internment camps.